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Date: 25 Sep 2007 20:23:07
From: Steve Sr.
Subject: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
with 9S which used Shimano cables.
The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
broken strands.
Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
Thanks,
Steve
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Date: 26 Sep 2007 05:32:51
From: sally
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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Steve Sr. <Nospam@nospam.com > wrote in
news:529jf39o72qt2vo7s58mjmllmomvjqgr09@4ax.com:
> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
How many miles in 1 year? If you ride a lot, replacing cables every year is
a good idea. Indexed shifting cables do have a tendency to snap inside the
shift lever, where you can't easily inspect it.
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Date: 26 Sep 2007 21:47:42
From: Steve Sr.
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 05:32:51 +0000 (UTC), sally <sally@sally.com >
wrote:
>Steve Sr. <Nospam@nospam.com> wrote in
>news:529jf39o72qt2vo7s58mjmllmomvjqgr09@4ax.com:
>> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
>> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
>> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
>> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
>> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
>
>How many miles in 1 year? If you ride a lot, replacing cables every year is
>a good idea. Indexed shifting cables do have a tendency to snap inside the
>shift lever, where you can't easily inspect it.
Actually, it is real easy to inspect the rear cable. Shift to your
lowest gear (biggest cog). Now without turning the pedals apply slight
tension to the inner shifter cable somewhere it is exposed. Then index
the shifter to the highest gear. This should provide enough cable
slack so that you can remove the cable from the frame at the lower
deraileur cable. Now with the cable loose you have enough slack to
push it out of the shifter and inspect for broken strands.
Unfortunately this doesn't work for the front cable. You'll have to
take the cable out of the front deraileur.
Steve
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Date: 25 Sep 2007 19:53:50
From: tiborg
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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On Sep 26, 9:23 am, Steve Sr. <Nos...@nospam.com > wrote:
> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
>
> The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
> surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
> upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
> home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
> broken strands.
>
> Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
I replace my rear shift cable every 4 months and front every 6 months
unless I notice broken strands earlier (800km/month, all weather
commuting). If I let them go longer than that, they will break within
a month or two. Maybe I just shift too much...
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Date: 26 Sep 2007 11:16:17
From: A Muzi
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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> Steve Sr. <Nos...@nospam.com> wrote:
>> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
>> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
>> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
>> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
>> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
>>
>> The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
>> surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
>> upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
>> home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
>> broken strands.
>>
>> Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
tiborg wrote:
> I replace my rear shift cable every 4 months and front every 6 months
> unless I notice broken strands earlier (800km/month, all weather
> commuting). If I let them go longer than that, they will break within
> a month or two. Maybe I just shift too much...
Gee, that seems extreme. 1-3 years is more typical.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
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Date: 26 Sep 2007 21:49:52
From: Bill
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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"A Muzi" <am@yellowjersey.org > wrote in message
news:13fl1ckabtdh627@corp.supernews.com...
> > Steve Sr. <Nos...@nospam.com> wrote:
> >> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
> >> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
> >> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
> >> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
> >> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
> >>
> >> The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
> >> surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
> >> upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
> >> home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
> >> broken strands.
> >>
> >> Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
>
> tiborg wrote:
> > I replace my rear shift cable every 4 months and front every 6 months
> > unless I notice broken strands earlier (800km/month, all weather
> > commuting). If I let them go longer than that, they will break within
> > a month or two. Maybe I just shift too much...
>
> Gee, that seems extreme. 1-3 years is more typical.
> --
> Andrew Muzi
> www.yellowjersey.org
> Open every day since 1 April, 1971
With my DuraAce I try to replace the right cable every 2500 miles. Never had
a left cable fail. If I forget, the right fails by 3000. I've had the same
experience with both 8 and 9 speed. Now I have a bike with 10 speed Force.
Any input on the cable replacement interval for the right shifter?
One footnote. Dripping energy drink makes a sticky mess under the bottom
bracket that can have a real effect on shifting. I have wondered in the
additional tension is a source of premature cable failure.
Bill
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Date: 27 Sep 2007 08:26:13
From: Michael Warner
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:49:52 GMT, Bill wrote:
> With my DuraAce I try to replace the right cable every 2500 miles. Never had
> a left cable fail. If I forget, the right fails by 3000. I've had the same
> experience with both 8 and 9 speed.
My experience with 9-speed Ultegra is that the shifter cables were fine for
about 20,000 miles, at which point I replaced both of them; there was no
visible wear or fraying on the old ones.
But I clean and lube the cable paths about once a week, which might help
extend their life.
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Date: 27 Sep 2007 00:41:18
From: Dennis Ferguson
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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On 2007-09-26, Michael Warner <mvw@westnet.com.au > wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 21:49:52 GMT, Bill wrote:
>
>> With my DuraAce I try to replace the right cable every 2500 miles. Never had
>> a left cable fail. If I forget, the right fails by 3000. I've had the same
>> experience with both 8 and 9 speed.
>
> My experience with 9-speed Ultegra is that the shifter cables were fine for
> about 20,000 miles, at which point I replaced both of them; there was no
> visible wear or fraying on the old ones.
>
> But I clean and lube the cable paths about once a week, which might help
> extend their life.
I must be fantastically lucky. I changed out the cables on my 9 speed
DuraAce bike this year just because they had 16,000 miles on them and I
thought that was long enough. They still looked fine to me. And
while I clean and lube the shifters and derailleurs when I feel the urge
to have a clean bike, I don't do much of anything in particular for
the cables. I haven't had a failure for a long time.
Dennis Ferguson
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Date: 25 Sep 2007 20:15:50
From: A Muzi
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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Steve Sr. wrote:
> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
>
> The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
> surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
> upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
> home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
> broken strands.
>
> Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
Not necessarily. It usually isn't the wire itself, rather the crunched
plastic ferrule or some such. Check that and maybe replace the complete
cable, not just the wire.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
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Date: 26 Sep 2007 21:38:56
From: Steve Sr.
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:15:50 -0500, A Muzi <am@yellowjersey.org >
wrote:
>Steve Sr. wrote:
>> Can anyone comment on the durability of aftermarket shifter cables?
>> These would be for a Shimano 10S system. I have recently had one
>> nearly break that was less than a year old and I think it was
>> aftermarket. I can't recall having this problem with my other bike
>> with 9S which used Shimano cables.
>>
>> The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
>> surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
>> upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
>> home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
>> broken strands.
>>
>> Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
>
>Not necessarily. It usually isn't the wire itself, rather the crunched
>plastic ferrule or some such. Check that and maybe replace the complete
>cable, not just the wire.
In this case it was the inner wire. The outer casing and plastic
ferrule was fine. I haven't had to replace an outer casing in a while
(ever on this bike) in about 13K miles.
Steve
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Date: 26 Sep 2007 01:05:28
From: victor.kan@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Durability Of Aftermarket Shifter Cables?
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On Sep 25, 8:23 pm, Steve Sr. <Nos...@nospam.com > wrote:
> The failure mode was broken strands near the shifter. It worked
> surprisingly good until a mechanic who was inspecting the bike for the
> upcoming MS-150 ride "adjusted" it. I had to readjust it on the way
> home. Later I decided to check the cable and sure enough found the
> broken strands.
Sounds to me like one of the two recent "adjustments" hosed the cable.
> Should I only use Shimano cables in the future?
Shimano is not immune from bad cables:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05102.html
though this recall was for brake cables.
I've used various brands of aftermarket, stainless steel (some Teflon
coated, some not) shifter (and brake) cables and they've all been
fine.
Most of the problems I've had in this area have been with derailleur
housing, not the cable within.
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